According to a new study published in the European Heart Journal, drinking coffee in the morning can significantly lower the risk of death from cardiovascular disease and cancer compared to sipping coffee all day or abstaining altogether.
The researchers, who released their findings earlier this month, claim that coffee’s anti-inflammatory effects are most beneficial in the morning—they note that inflammatory markers “have internal circadian patterns, where they are typically highest in the morning.” Drinking coffee in the morning is also less likely to interfere with individuals’ natural sleep cycles, they say.
These findings seem pretty obvious, and track with most coffee drinkers’ habits. But a good time to drink coffee is different from when people enjoy drinking coffee. To learn more, we asked industry professionals when they preferred to drink coffee—and what they thought of the study’s results.
Timely Sipping
Many coffee professionals are traditionalists. “I am a morning coffee drinker for sure,” says Bovaconti Coffee’s co-founder and director of operations, Justin Jones, whose go-to morning coffee is a red eye or black eye (a drip coffee with one or two shots of espresso). “We use a dual-purpose house blend which means that we use the same proprietary blend for our daily drip coffee and espresso. So, our red eye is the same beans extracted two different ways, and it’s beautiful.”
Jones says he enjoys having the same coffee on espresso and drip at Bovaconti, which has two locations in the Indianapolis area. “It’s also a really cool educational piece for some of our customers who still think that there are coffee beans and espresso beans,” he says. “I take mine with lion’s mane mushroom powder and ceremonial cacao, getting the full benefits.”
Joshua Millman of Chicago’s Passion House Coffee Roasters is an early riser, and he describes morning coffee as a sacred ritual. “My favorite is waking up early in the morning, while most are still asleep, before the sunrise, and all is still,” he says. “It gives me the opportunity to appreciate the lovely cup that I’m about to enjoy.”
Millman enjoys the slowness of the morning—it allows him to linger and appreciate the coffee he’s sipping. “I love swishing the coffee around in my mouth, noticing all the complex flavors,” he says. “As the sky becomes lighter, my coffee starts tasting brighter. As I take my last sip, the joy that exudes out of me is definitely helping to reduce my mortality risk!”
Nick Truong, founder of EM Coffee House, a new Vietnamese coffee shop in San Diego, enjoys his first sip of coffee between 10 a.m. and noon. “I want to be able to taste, smell, and imagine the different taste profiles of the coffee from subtle sweet, sour, bitter, flowery, and fruity,” he says. “Too often we are treating coffee like an energy drink or a grab-and-go item and gulping it down first thing in the morning, and forget that there is a unique story behind every bean and cup related to the place of origin and roasting craftsmanship.”
Right before lunch is when Kenia Euceda Canales, director of the Washington-DC-based Cameo Coffee, prefers to drink coffee. “Plenty of people make the mistake of not hydrating properly in the morning and going straight for coffee,” she says. “Trust me, I’ve been there too. Eleven a.m. is such a sweet spot because by then I’ve eaten breakfast and my hydration levels are at a peak. It helps with acid reflux as well for those who drink espresso.”
Lunch isn’t the only time Canales is drinking coffee. “I also enjoy coffee at sundown—4 or 5 p.m.,” she says. “I’ll do an afternoon cappuccino or cortado for my afternoon commute, with plenty of residual energy to make dinner.”
Hugo Cano, owner of Indianapolis’ Amberson Coffee, says he has started drinking coffee later in the day. “Lately, I’ve really been enjoying drinking coffee in the evening, particularly pour-overs,” he says. “There is something very relaxing about experiencing the change in light and pace of the day while sipping on a deftly brewed cup of coffee at a shop, while reading, journaling or sketching. I wish more shops were open later in the day to offer this experience.”
Hector Mejía Zamora, owner of Portland’s Café Zamora, has noticed that post-COVID, most small coffee shops are closing their doors earlier, some at 2 or 3 p.m, which makes it difficult for people who prefer their coffee later in the day.
“On the other hand, in Guatemala, having coffee at 5 p.m. or even for dinner’s drink at 7 p.m. is common, at least in the village where I am from. And the coffee usually is sweet and softer,” he says. Zamora also notes that drinking coffee later in the day is an invitation to gather and meet up with friends. “People drink coffee in the afternoon to warm up and socialize. To us, coffee is not a ‘drug’ to help us through the day. It is a gift to be shared and enjoyed either with family, friends, or sometimes with the peaceful sound of rain coming down on a cold afternoon.”
Michael Kivland, owner of Heady Cup Coffee Roasters in McHenry, Illinois, is partial to a cup of coffee to fuel his evening workout, but he’s not reaching for a traditional bag of beans. Instead, he prefers his brand’s mushroom coffee blend at night. “While there’s nothing like that first cup of the day,” he says, “there’s something very special about brewing a pot of our Bloom Shroomery at night before your workout with all of its nervous system benefits that keep you flowing all night long.”
